Anne lives with Dirk in a very characteristic and authentic house, which used to be a small farm in Watergang, a small village near to Amsterdam.

When you look out your window you see

I see a
drawbridge, the canals of the wetlands and a small orchard. During the past
winter, the canals were frozen and thousands of skaters came by in our usually
quiet little town. In the summer, you can see many boats go by.

What do you like to do most when you are at home?

I work at home so I am there quite a lot.
The nicest thing about living here is being outside, close to nature. I also
love to cook together with Dirk. We also use fresh produce from our own
backyard, as we have our own kitchen yard since this year!

Do you take your work home with you?

Work and private life aren’t really
separated. I enjoy the luxury to work in my pyjamas in the morning. I am not
jealous of all those people stuck in traffic jams. I try to do a lot of work
during the day, but it can get late sometimes. I just want to do quality work
and it is nice and quiet at night. I do have a lot of perseverance I think J. I don’t stop until I’m happy with it. I
do try to make appointments in town. From here, I can be in the centre of
Amsterdam within 15 minutes. It feels as if we are living partly outside of the
city.

Do you use your designs in your own house?

Yes I do. It makes me rather happy. I try
to make things that I like to look at myself. In addition to graphic design
work, I’ve started doing ceramics, mostly for relaxation, although the china
cupboard is getting slightly full from it!

What would you take with from your house if you were
only allowed to take one thing?

I love to
scour flea markets to find things with a story behind them. ‘One of a kind’
things are more valuable to me then mass-produced stuff, but if I would buy a
ticket now to a far away place, I also wouldn’t need to pack a lot. A few
photos perhaps. I have collected a blue and white crockery set but if I would
have to start again, it also wouldn’t be a train wreck. It is actually quite
funny, as you collect a lot of stuff around you but in actual fact it is easily
replaceable.

Was there ever a moment while growing up where you
thought: yes, I’m going to be a designer?

I wanted to become an architect when I was
younger, or a Flying Doctor. That seemed like fun J as then you could be a doctor and a pilot
at the same time. In any case, it had to be something cool. I always liked to
draw. I first studied communications, and then decided it wasn’t for me. Then I
wanted to do something creative. So I studied Art Direction. Having a
background in these two studies is now very useful, I’ve noticed. My parents
are also very creative. My father writes and my mother does sculptures, but
they both have a medical profession. You have to find your own purpose in life.
My little brother summed it up nicely recently: “The things you do, you really
do with attention and passion. And that is why you develop in a positive way”.
I feel fortunate that people often come to me with projects. A privileged
position to be in, I think.

What would you like to change in your home?

This is a rental house so we can’t change
anything but I would like to have more windows. Then I could enjoy the view
even more. In the bedroom, a large window for the view and a woodstove would be
really nice.

Where do you want to live 10 years from now? What does
your dream house look like?

I’d live in
two houses J. They don’t have to be big: one Swedish
stuga in a field and one house in a quiet place in town. I miss the city every
now and then. The house in the city does
have to be in Amsterdam.

Who is your example/hero/favourite designer?

Stephan Sagmeister is my big hero. He
creates really cool stuff. He is a graphic designer who lives in New York
nowadays. Much of his work comes from his own experiences. He wrote a nice book
a few years ago: ‘Things I have learned in my live so far’. In it, he
visualizes one-liners that he has collected over time in a special typographic
way. One of my favourite one-liners from that book is: ‘Complaining is useless,
either act of forget’.

Name a negative trait of yours that is causing you the
most problems

I always say yes to everything, but
sometimes it is a bit too much. I plan too tightly. I always think: oh, I can
do that quickly. When I buy my new iPhone, I hope that I can plan everything
better as I will always have my agenda with me, but the iPhone won’t say ‘no’
for me of course.

What inspires you? Do you perhaps have a favourite
blog or website that you like to visit?

Discovering new cities I find inspiring.
I’ve been in New York with a few friends when I quit my job and followed a letterpress
course there, which was considered very hip & happening. That is where the
one-liner: 'Ma’am step away from the computer' came from. I used to work for an
advertising agency as a creative where I was sitting behind the computer the
whole day. I wasn’t happy there and wanted to do something different. For the
course I had to develop a one-liner to print. I thought it up when I was
sitting in the plane to New York, after quitting my job to focus on handmade
design.

I visit pinterest a lot, although I’m a
lazy ‘pinner’…I repin a lot though, ha,ha. I also like to visit these blogs: color collective, uppercase (also a cool magazine!!) , the style rookie (16 year old style icon).

Hi and welcome to Bloesem! My name is Irene Hoofs and I started this journal in 2006 wanting to share my passion for design, art and craft with you. New to Bloesem? Here are my 10 favorite posts to get you started. Or would you like to see the necklaces I make?